[MGE] Into the Depths

“You are tasked by the King to investigate the ruins past the mountains in the east. From there, your team will need to acquire any artifacts that might be lying in wait. I’d wager that ancient place is more than a thousand years old. Additionally, according to several intelligence reports from our scouts, there have been instances of missing delver parties over the past months. I want you to bring me any artifacts or evidence about the missing people and come back alive. You hear me?”

The guildmaster scrutinizes the four people in front of him, eyeing each member carefully.

“Yes, sir!” they call back, all in unison.

“Good, you will go there today. We have already prepared you your horses and a few days-worth of rations and supplies. Laura, I’m asking you to lead this expedition under your leadership and guidance.” The guildmaster looks at the tall warrior. He concludes with, “good luck” and stands at attention to salute the team members.

They respond in kind and file out of the door one-by-one.

In a sigh of relief, they exit the guild; the tension deflating but their anxiety rising with their daunting quest ahead of them.

“Phew! It looked like the GM was about to tear into us!” the Rogue says, not directing her attention to anyone. “That guy gives me the creeps!”

“Nonsense!” responds the Fighter. “The debriefing is always the most important part of the mission. I don’t want any one of you getting hurt on my watch. I’ll put my life on the line if I have to!”

The Mage rolls his eyes at the Warrior’s overconfidence and selflessness. “Well, I hope there is anything remotely interesting in those damned ruins lest I waste my time again casting spells for you guys. I’m praying this takes only a few days maximum so I can get back to fine-tuning my enchantments and alchemy.”

“Does it really matter though?” the Archer finally responds, looking at the whole group as he back-pedals himself in-front of them. “The GM has tasked us with this responsibility. Please don’t write this off as another errand for the King.”

The Wizard turns his head away, his complaint back-firing on him.

“Fine.”

“Well, let’s go meet the guild-staff near the stables and be on our way then!” the Warrior smiles, her grin warming even the Mage's cold heart just a little as they nod to each other in agreement.

…

“...So here’s 5 day’s worth of water in this here canteen, about 3-4 days worth of food, just beef, rice, bread...Let’s see...some utensils, obviously...Oh...Equipment…” the guy trails off. He continues again, remembering what the backpacks contained.

“There’s some torches, lighters, bombs, antidotes, just for regular poisons or venom though, umm...spare arrows for that Archer over there...some oil just in case your torches can’t light up, several extra knives for the Rogue-lady...and I think that’s about it...or that’s all I can remember at the moment. Hahaha!” the man laughs to himself, to the Wizard's chagrin.

“Well, we thank you for preparing all this for us. We won’t let you down!” the Warrior exclaims, pounding her fist to her chest as a sign of respect and fidelity.

The staff-member salutes at the party as they mount their respective horses and ride off out of town and into the horizon.

...

The next few days go by in a blur. Eat, sleep, ride. Eat, sleep, ride.

It was not until 4 days later, past the cold mountainous regions and off the grid of civilization, that the party finally reached their destination.

“Here, on the map. It says that there is a large dense forest up ahead. We gotta get off our horses and trek the whole rest of the way” contemplates the Rogue, pointing at a distinct dirt path trailing off into the thick underbrush.

They dismount their horses and carry their custom-fit backpacks onto the trail ahead.

Fanning his head with his hands to keep the insects off himself, the Mage tells the Rogue, “Mhm, sure. Now I’m going to get all sweaty from the heat.”

“Do you want me to carry you, then?” the Warrior nonchalantly asks the Mage. “You’re not that heavy compared to the rest of us. Here, climb on my back.” She adjusts herself into a squatting position so that the Wizard can piggy-back on her.

The Mage is taken aback by her direct but prompt response. While it did show concern, her approach was way too embarassing for the man.

“I’ll...have to politely decline. I’ll be fine. The heat’s just getting to me is all.”

“Suit yourself.”

The adventuring party passed by several strange effigies along the way to which the Rogue pointed out.

They were unlike any object of worship that they have seen in their entire lives. It was made of various roots and branches which hung from the large trunks of the foliage. They were molded into a horseshoe-like shape. Two distinct spikes protruded from its sides, blackened at the tips. These effigies stood rather tall, as if it were crafted by some giant.

The adventurers looked on with new-found caution as they were now wary that they could be facing heretics, or worse, cannibals.

The Warrior brushes away several fronds of leaves out of the path. “Keep an eye out for any noises. We don’t want to get ambushed where we can’t see them” she warns.

The journey to their desired location proved to be harmless.

Several hours later, they stumble upon the ancient ruins, or what remains of it.

Rock-like spires, weathered down by history, surround the maw of the ruin’s entrance. Eerily enough, they are shaped like teeth as most of the pillars were jagged in form; the curvature of the rocks bending and distorting in unnatural ways.

The Archer comments on the peculiar engravings on each of the rocks as they approach the giant hole in the side of the hill.

These marks were like magic runes or glyphs, the Mage appraises. Although, these markings were not from any lexicon that he had the knowledge of, he studies each of them carefully all the while pulling out a book and pen to jot down these intriguing findings.

The group begins to looks around, taking their time to observe what might lie in wait for them later.

To break up the silence, the Rogue offers her input on the situation.

“So...should we get going then? I’m sure there’s TONS of treasure waiting to be plundered in these ruins. Maybe we’ll even find those lost adventurers” she grins, slowly turning towards the cave entrance. Her grin immediately fades as she gives a gesture for the other party members to come with her.

They light their torches with a spark, illuminating a fraction of their surroundings. The Warrior descended into the darkness first, shortsword in hand, followed by the Mage, then the Wizard, and finally the Rogue.

Their trek downwards was calm but foreboding in the sense that they were delving into the unknown. They clutched their weapons but resolved themselves to descend deeper, straying further and further from the light.

They come across some black smears on the walls which traced further down. Their torches hone in on these new markings, looking at them in wonder.

Quietly, they pursue onwards, the ambiance growing noticeably colder and more humid than on the surface. This was to be expected, they rationalized, as there was no source of natural light to be found.

The hall opens up into a large room, about as spacious as a small church. The fire from their torches encompassed only a fragment of the chamber. Fungal growth and hanging moss drape the walls of the room, which somehow glow an iridescent shade of green. There are small makeshift wick candles spread across the room which conveys a sense of consternation.

Several more effigies akin to the ones they saw from the forest path are aligned at the center. Splatters of black ink coat the floor around the crude statues as well as magical pentagrams are inscribed in the ground around the statue's vicinity.

No one seems to be present at this ritual place prompting the group to investigate in closer detail.

Once again, the Mage is entranced by the archaic symbols, formulating what they might imply or what elements they could create.

A tap on his shoulder causes the Mage to jump. He looks to his side and notices the Warrior staring right at him.

“Let’s get out of here before something actually shows up. I’ve spotted another entrance over there.” She points to the other hole in the wall where more blackish smears adorn its entrance as well as some fungal overgrowth above and beside it.

Without another word, they regroup and enter the hallway. The low-lying ceiling and narrow walls contributed to the nauseating feeling of claustrophobia.

They approach a hole in the ground with a rope tied to a large nail that’s been driven into the floor. The Warrior tests its strength to make sure they can all climb down simultaneously. She tugs at the rope hard which strains the tethers but it remains tightly fastened to the stake.

She gives a thumbs-up and they proceed to climb down delicately.

As the Rogue descends, she focuses on a black figure resembling a humanoid but with extra appendages at its sides and head. It stares deep into her soul as the thing remains motionless. Her eyes go wide with fear, but when she blinks, it suddenly disappears. She blinks several more times before climbing down the rope at a more considerable pace, fearing that it might drop on her. She hopes that she is hallucinating and therefore does not bring this up to the group.

Once the whole party reached the bottom of the rope, which thankfully did not snap on their way down, they are approached with a maze of hallways. Each one branches to several more corridors. Many stalactites droop from the low ceiling, head-sized holes in the wall are carved into the earthen cave.

Turning corners, backtracking from dead-ends, and choosing which passageways they might have not gone through, the party aimlessly wanders around for what seems like eternity.

Finally, they discover several small rooms with old books or scrolls piled on the ground. They enter one of the many rooms and observe its contents.

The Mage’s curiosity piques and he appraises one of the books on the ground. As he opens them to read, he freezes into a wide-eyed stare. Moments go by until the other adventurers become concerned with his enthusiasm for ancient texts and attempt to get his attention.

“Hey, you alright, Reg?” the Archer approaches the Mage, his hand reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Suddenly, a monstrous scream is heard from the entrance of the small room. The entire party, save the Wizard, quickly turn their heads around to meet its gaze.

There, standing nearly the entirety of the entrance, was a creature with several tentacle-like appendages hanging off of its bulbous body. There were no traces of eyes on it but instead an elongated mouth filled with serrated teeth wrapped itself around the thing’s torso, from hip to head. Although it looked humanoid in shape, its extraneous anatomy gave it a hunched back and a spineless neck. It was taller than the Warrior, which intimidated the party save for the Mage.

This was it. This was what they were fighting. This is what lay below the surface, eating or killing the previous delvers.

In an instant, the Archer raised his oak bow and launched a fire arrow at its head which stunned the creature while the Warrior rushed it with her shortsword and sliced its body in two. A spray of black ichor paints the Warrior in a gory fashion.

With a sickening splat, the creature was felled gurgling a bubbling ooze.

Not taking their eyes off it, the thing slowly sank into the ground until it dissipated entirely.

“Let’s go.” Laura weakly calls out, too shocked at what they just killed.

They take the spell-bound Mage and hurry along the hallways in case the tar creature called for reinforcements.

A number of noises were heard throughout the hallway, as if a paste was constantly being grinded and mashed into a fine pulp.

The Archer looks at the walls, his skin turning pale.

“...Look” is all he utters before the Warrior and the Rogue slow down to look at the walls.

A black fluid was squeezing itself out of the cave holes in the walls like toothpaste. The substance sprouted out several antenna-like feelers and tiny but noticeable digits for what seemed to be feet. They were pouring out of the walls en masse.

The adventurers gagged as they watched in horror the wretched horrors of the cave crawl out of their nests to prey on their new victims.

They ran.

They ran through the cave's passages, until one seemed to navigate downwards again.

This corridor led to another antechamber, the room opening up into a large space, much larger than the previous one.

However, there were inhabitants praying at its altars. The same runic sigils and crude sculptures covered the room.

The prostrate figures suddenly stopped chanting and slowly directed their attention to the newcomers.

They growled and screeched until all of them joined in an unholy choir of inhuman voices. With their ritual interrupted, they stood up and began running towards the intruders.

Bracing themselves, the adventurers, besides the Mage, covered some ground to fight these tar-like aberrations.

The Warrior sliced her share of monsters, brutally punching and kicking several of the ones charging at her, forcing her to multitask but focusing on no particular enemy.

The Archer aimed his bow at the ones rushing him head-on and strikes them in the head and chest, alternating between fire arrows and normal arrows.

The Rogue applied her swath of poison onto her twin-daggers and tore her enemies with terrifying skill.

“Wow, I thought they’d be a lot tougher than they look. They’re all ugly as sin though” the Rogue half-heartedly jokes.

“Now’s not the time for joking around, Ariana! Focus!” the Archer hollers out, several more arrows landing on their target.

Still entranced by the book’s ancient scriptures, two monsters crawl at him which the Rogue instinctively throws several poison-laced knives at the incoming enemies resulting in a cacophony of ear-splitting screams. Their bodies thrash on the ground trying to remove the knives that have impaled themselves into their flesh.

The Warrior’s voice can be heard from the other side of the room. “Leo, Ariana! We gotta get out of here, NOW! These guys are gonna overwhelm us if we keep this up. Let’s go!”

There’s a slight pause.

“Ariana, get Reg, I found the exit!”

The Archer and Rogue hastily look for their lost leader, to which she waves her torch like a beacon amongst the darkness and aims it at another large hole in the wall.

They sprint past all the agitated monsters, narrowly dodging their fists and legs.

“Hey Leo! Shoot the oil pot and light it up so we can cover our escape!”

The Archer nods and as the entire party exits the chamber, the Warrior pulls out a clay container from her backpack and throws it in the air.

Leo shoots it with a flame arrow and douses the entrance with a rain of fire.

The pursuing monstrosities approach the fire but suddenly stop and huddle around the entrance, confused by the burning sensation. They return to their original positions near the altar as if the battle never happened.

A little bit further from the ritual grounds and they find another hole in the ground with a rope tied to a stake.

Before the party continues, the Warrior slaps the book out of the Mage’s hands. The Mage, as if he suddenly lost all his oxygen, recoils from this rude awakening and gasps for air.

“...Th-thanks…Holy hell, I don’t even know what happened” as the Wizard struggles to calm his breathing.

“You’re welcome. What did you see and why were you so focused on that book?”

“I...don’t know...I heard whispers. It called to me to read them. So I did. I don’t know what happened right after but it felt like I was teleported into some sort of city. But...it wasn’t a city. There were structures that bent and swayed, as if the town itself were alive. It was too dark to really see anything but…but I heard noises. Noises I can’t even put to exact words, but they sounded as if it belonged to a demon or a large beast. I don’t know anymore…”

The rest of the adventurers were stunned at this revelation. They had no response other than to silently contemplate on the Mage’s thoughts.

They were not dealing with the ordinary. Their King has unknowingly sent them to die against an unknown entity. It was beyond their human perception to recognize that this might have been their last mission together. With the little hope that they might obtain something or discover an exit to the surface, they continued.

Through the various hallways, they come across more scrawls of black tar smeared onto the cave like a canvas of paint.

Stumbling upon another spacious room, the path is a straightaway. However, two monumental abysses are seen on both sides of the path. The walls, never to be seen from the light of their torches, open up similar to the size of the previous ritual chambers.

The Archer tests a shot to see how deep the chasm is.

The arrows sails down, momentarily illuminating the depth of the pit until it is covered by something.

From the chasm comes a multitude of chittering, as the pools of tar convulse. It was not a deep chasm but the same paste from the cave holes.

The adventurers listen in on the noises from below as it grows in intensity.

That’s when it hit them.

“Run!” screams Laura, as she books it towards the other side of the straight, followed by the other three party members.

The walkway, covered in the tar substance, slows the party down considerably as the Mage almost slips from the narrow footing but the Warrior catches him in a split-second and pulls him back onto the path.

Little centipede-like monsters drop from the unforeseen ceiling. Many more also climb onto the path to surround the party. Some latch onto the group members with a sickening splat, finding purchase onto their vulnerable skin and latching on with their rows of teeth.

“Argh! Get them off me!” cries the Mage.

“We need to hurry! Pick up the pace and don’t fall down!” screams the Rogue from behind.

As they try to shake off the insect-like creatures, the Mage begins to cast a fireball.

When the adventurers reach the exit, the Mage finishes his spell and covers their escape, utilizing the fireball as a magic fire-wall.

They stomp and annihilate every remaining monstrosity that managed to attach themselves onto their skin.

Scanning their complexion in case of serious wounds, they find that there seems to be no severe reaction with these alien beings, but instead a simple bite mark.

They take a moment of rest from the narrow escape, each labored by their breathing and fatigued from sprinting from various monsters and through labyrinthine corridors.

The adventurers turn a corner, only to see that some black fluid blocks the rest of the hallway.

As they go to investigate it, several eyes reveal themselves to the party members, looking particularly at the Warrior as she was the closest to its proximity.

A platitude of black tendrils launch from the wall and ensnare the Warrior, earning a surprised scream from her.

The other members panic as the Archer hastily sends forth a couple of armor-piercing arrows at its eyes.

The Mage mumbles an ignition spell to burn the tendrils off the captured Warrior while the Rogue attempts to cut the thicker ones off.

But it was all in vain as even more tentacles entangle themselves onto the Warrior, intent on subjugating its newfound victim.

She screams in terror as there was nothing the party could do to help her in the slightest. She is pushed side-first into the tar wall, her head turning to face her comrades with tears rolling down her face as she is consumed by the wall. Her scream is cut short as she disappears into the void.

They abscond a considerable distance away from the trap and reflect on what just occurred.

Falling down to cry, the Rogue lets go of her daggers, slipping from her grasp and clanging onto the cold ground.

The Mage and Archer look at each other in silent desperation, to which the Archer offers his hand to comfort the bawling Rogue.

In the heat of the moment, he kneels down in front of her and embraces her close. She sobs onto his shoulder, letting out all her frustrations and anxiety.

Several moments later, they hear the wall moaning and creaking.

They face the now-opening wall. A sticky conglomeration of tentacles, fluids, and unknown materials fall to the floor as the wall presents the rest of the passage to the adventurers.

Still mourning over the loss of Laura, they proceed further with their morale at an all-time low.

Another ritual area.

An army of worshippers praise their heretic statues and chant in an inhuman dialect. They halt their prayers to look at the new visitors.

Upon their arrival, the adventurers see a single figure, similar to the appearance of the cult members, standing atop an elevated platform of sticks, stones, and tar. The ebony figure seems more feminine in form as it has long languid black hair flowing to its hips. It's lean but taut body to show off her slick curves. Her horns a twinge of purple and her pair of bat-like wings rests behind her back. The creature’s eyes displaying no anger at the intrusion of the adventurers but instead a sense of distress. She utters two clear words at the adventurers.

“Help me...”

The Archer readies a volley of fire arrows at the incoming monsters. Hitting them with precise accuracy, they limply crumple onto the floor amidst the heat of battle.

The Mage and Rogue spread out to each brandish their weapons: a large fireball and throwing knives respectively.

However, this encounter is not like any preceding fight from before.

A couple of tar monsters in the back also begin to chant their spells. Green flames appear from their gaping mouths and rise into the air, which float with an ethereal glow as they ignite themselves into existence. Others begin to cast hexes onto the Wizard to which he cries out as he is mentally bound and silenced from casting.

The green embers hurtle themselves onto the Archer. He dodges the projectiles, while simultaneously shooting at the savages.

As he is mentally focused on his targets, the rest of the crowd direct their attention on the binded Mage and Rogue.

They isolate the two party members by surrounding and separating them both.

The Rogue easily pushes back the horde of enemies as they are cut down one by one. She dodges each of their punches or kicks and navigates her escape with ease.

A scream is heard from the crowd as the Mage is brutally pushed down by the tide of bodies. Four monsters, each holding onto one of the his limbs, begin to carry him over to a giant hole in the wall.

He screams in a frenzied panic as he is unable to get these heretics off of him. He looks towards the hole in the wall. Black paste is gushing out of it, piling onto the ground like frothy sludge.

He thrashes around in an attempt to free himself, but they instantly push him head first into the hole, suppressing his cries for help.
The monsters let go of his body as the wall literally swallows him up.

“No, Reg! You pieces of shit! I’ll kill all of you!” the Archer shouts as he aims towards the crowd of tar monsters near the hole.

As he shouts, the Rogue turns her head to the hole in the wall, just as the Wizard’s feet vanishes into the slush.

Something triggers her into a berserk state as she quickly slices more of her surrounding foes until she is also knocked down by one of the creatures.



“S̛̬̱̪̜̤̹̹̙͈͓͔̙̠͓̬̍ͥͣ̃͒̇ͭ̈̊͌ͮͫ̄̅̓͜tͩͤ̔͆͊̾͑ͭ̄̏͂́͢͡҉̬̖̺̥͙o̵̴̡͍̣̹̗̪̬̩͎͇̙̓͌ͯͦ͗͗͝p̧̡̳̠̭͇͚̬͇̫̃ͧ̅̓̂̐̋͌ͬͯ͡ͅ!̶̢̖̦͚͍̙͓̦͍̓̇͊̏̂͂”




The figure at the middle suddenly asserts her presence as every aberration faces her and prostrate themselves as if she were a goddess to them.

She calmly walks down the platform and goes towards an exit in the antechamber.

From within the exit, several words can be heard. “Follow me, quickly. We need to get out of here before they notice you again” she says, her figure disappearing into the darkness.

The Archer and Rogue immediately follow her into the narrow hallway.

As they travel along the dark corridors, the Archer finally talks.

“What the hell are they?”

The horned woman maintains her direction to the front.

“They are creatures from beyond the stars. It is their mission to assimilate themselves onto organic creatures of this world and become a symbiosis. One mind and one body.”

The Rogue chimed in. “Why are they attacking us?

“They see you are not one of them yet. I will say that they truly mean no harm.”

In a more unstable tone, the Rogue continues to interrogate the woman.

“Well what about our friends? What happened to them? Please, I need to know!”

“They are being sent into the lowest reaches of this cave. We should be there soon. However, it’s only a matter of time before they are plunged into it...before they become one of us.”

The horned woman could not see it but the Rogue clenched her fists and grit her teeth as she struggled to fight away the tears forming near her eyes.

“Then who are you? Why are you not like them?” the Archer questions, maintaining his usual level-headed tone.

“I have become a perfect being in their eyes, one that has molded optimally to the foreign substance. This primordial slime is actually millions of years old as it has traveled eons through other dimensions seeking sustenance.”

The Archer, taken aback by this new information responds with, “wait...so what we have been fighting was...oh God...no...”

The being looks at them mournfully but continues with, “yes, they are your people. They were forced to undergo the transformation as new lifeforms. I, myself, was one of the many adventurers that ventured down here in search for treasure and relics. It was to a tragic end that my party was also wiped out and turned into these hive-minds. I was fortunate enough to regain consciousness after my spirit was ripped from me and reformed again. I do not know why, but I seem to be the only one to have retained my previous memories.” The woman stops and looks to the ground, staring off into space.

“I need to kill it” the Archer mumbles.

The woman snaps out of her stupor. “Huh?”

“I said I NEED TO KILL IT! Whatever the hell that thing is, for humanity’s sake, for mine, and for my friends! I need to end it before it enslaves our entire race!”

This also reinvigorates the Rogue, who has been trailing from behind the whole time.

“Leo! You’re right! If we can’t find a way out, we might as well sacrifice ourselves before anyone else gets hurt in this mess...I don’t want to lose you too...” the Rogue sniffs, before clutching her daggers.

The Archer longingly empathizes with her point and hugs her tightly. “It’s okay Ariana, we can do this together. You have me. We’ve known each other for a long time now and I’m not going to lose you too. C’mon.” They seperate and proceed further.

“Tell us where it is.”

“Are you sure? The path there is heavily guarded by-”

“I SAID TELL US WHERE IT IS!” the Archer interrupts her.

The ichor-colored woman utters out, “...I apologize. Let us go, then.”

…

They are led into a spherical room. The path is shaped into a downward spiral towards the other side with a large pit in the center and a wall covering the outermost layer of the room. The angle into the cesspool was steep. One misstep and one would tumble endlessly into the murky abyss.

Unlike last time, the Archer decided to not shoot an arrow into the pit in fear that the bug-like creatures will crawl out to feed on them.

More goop is smeared onto the walls and floor while holes on the side spew out black liquid like a slow waterfall.

Several spherical objects are seen floating around the room until one of them spots the horned woman and the two adventurers.

It is revealed that it is actually a giant eyeball as it accelerates towards the group. The Archer lifts his bow and aims true which causes the eye to explode into a flurry of sticky shrapnel.

The other eyeballs are alerted to this noise. Their disembodied eyes zone in on the trio, especially the Archer and Rogue.

“Run!” yells the woman as she flees towards the exit.

The Archer shoots his arrows, finding out that he only has a handful of arrows left in his quiver. He nods to the Rogue to which she throws several well-aimed knives at the exploding eyeballs to cover the Archer’s back.

A growing number of screaming is heard from the entrance of the room where the group just entered from. The cultists begin filing onto the path and running towards the adventurers at a breakneck pace.

The cesspool below begins to distort as the nests of tar insects awaken. They emerge from the pool and clamber onto the ceiling as well as the adjacent walls by the hundreds.

As they near the lower exit, one of the eyeballs manage to slip through the Archer arrows and Rogue’s knives and attaches itself onto the Rogue which causes an eruption of ichor to spill everywhere and onto the Rogue. She is blasted onto the wall, which knocks the wind out of her. The Archer, already far away from her position, attempts to reach for her with his outstretched hand. Before he could even get to her, more eyeballs assail themselves towards her downed body and burst into more layers of goop, which piles onto her into a cocoon of tar.

She gasps several more words before she is assailed by more balls of tar.

“Leo...Leo! Save yourself before they get to you too, please! I-” she is silenced by a hail of exploding tar balls.

“No! No, please no, not her! Why? Damn you all!” the Archer cries, biting away the growing distress of losing yet another member under his watch. “I’m so sorry Ariana, I’ll never forgive myself for this...”

He propels himself towards the egress to which the woman seals it closed with a giant stone rock.

Reverberations from the other side resound through the barricade.

As the Archer recovers from yet another traumatic experience, the woman speaks up.

“I’m sorry...about all this. I should’ve warned you and your friends when you descended down into this cave. I don’t know what else to say.”

“It’s not your fault...It’s...I don’t even know who to blame anymore. Let’s go.”

Their trek to the bottom of the chasm remained wordless until the Archer spoke again.

“What are they?”

“I’ve told you before, they are beings from beyond this world. They have laid dormant since this planet’s existence, growing...waiting to capture more living things. We have unknowingly awakened a being that lives off of people’s energy by encasing them into shambling beings.”

The Archer recollects the prior encounters with the cultists as they laid down screaming in agony. Whether pierced by arrows, burned to a crisp, or cut down by a weapon, they were practically still human inside despite their new unsavory features. It was with this realization that the Archer shuddered that he and his comrades were killing what were once human beings. Although, it doesn’t matter now. Not with how much he has lost and sacrificed along the way. His friends, Ariana, everyone in the entire world, and the future of humankind seemed to weigh heavily onto his shoulders. At this moment, he is the only one who could stop whatever was creating these hideous abominations. He looked in his quiver. There were only 7 arrows left inside. He had to make it count. He did not want to be tasked with such a burden, but it left him with no choice.

“Where did my friends go?”

“They traveled all the way through a long series of tunnels and caverns to reach the bottom of this labyrinth. That is where IT lives. ‘The Pit’ as we call it in our native tongue, is where your friends reside. We must get there quickly, as time is running out and IT’s patience is running thin” the horned woman explains. “However, I cannot delve deeper or else they will attack me. That place is sacred to our kind. I must take my leave and go back up. Good luck, adventurer.”

He nods in affirmation and goes along his way. As he glances back, he notices that she slowly travels into the wall and sinks through it completely.

Not spending a moment more, he arrives to the final room. It was yet another place of worship as there were several symbols carved onto the walls. The room was much more illuminated than the other chambers as green flames were spread throughout to provide lighting to every corner.

The path opened up into a circle where there was a giant vat of tar in the middle as well as on the outside of the circle path.

There were at least 30 other cultists surrounding the path but a particular detail stood out to the Archer.

His friends, whom were tied up in ropes of slum, screamed intensely against their bindings. The insectoid monsters covered their heads, which blinded them to the light of the cavern.

To this effect, the Archer erupted in righteous anger and pushed forth against all odds.

He fires at the nearest tar creatures with a resounding thud. They drop to the ground dead while the Archer rushes to free his friends.

He tears off the blackened centipedes off his friends' heads to which they plead him to remove them from their bindings.

The Mage conjures a spell to ignite the rubbery casing.

It screams in pain and relinquishes itself from their human hosts as it crumples to the floor. A loud droning noise can be heard from the epicenter of the circle as the cesspool distends and reverberates.

Something arises from the depths of its black abyss. The Archer knew that this was their supposed “God.”

It was feminine like the other woman they recently met, but much larger and devoid of color except black. It was covered with a slick film of black mucous and reeked a foul, primal stench.

It was looking straight towards his general direction with a large hand reaching right for him.

He is encapsulated by her otherworldly beauty, her eyes as vast as the stars themselves. It was like he was looking into another universe. The deeper he looked, the further he understood why these beings were here. They did not kill other species off, they were heightening their sense of individuality towards a higher cause. It was the pinnacle of human evolution to live on forever as inhabitants of the new world. Bursts of knowledge rushed into every fiber of his being causing his mind to tear apart, losing his consciousness in the process. This was not something that mere mortals should understand nor ever, but they needed to take the jump, lest they remain in feeble and powerless. With all the hidden potential buried deep in their subconsciousness, these aliens have discovered how to unlock that potential and utilize it to traverse different planes of existence.

The Archer screamed as he was pulled deeper and deeper into new states of being, new forms of causality that his mind could not adapt to so quickly.

He was going insane. His psyche was keeling over against the tides of infinite nightmares. He wanted it to stop, but IT did not let him.

“Hey! Let’s get out of here! Get the Archer, Ariana!” Laura orders as she runs towards the exit near the other side of the cavern.

“...hold on Leo, we'll get you out of here, I promise. Hush now...and thanks for coming to save us. I love you so much” the Rogue pulls the screaming Archer into a quick kiss, which calms his insanity.

They bob-and-weave through the army of tar creatures as they head towards their escape route.

It was at this moment that they all ran right into another trap.

As if camouflaged by the darkness, a giant eyeball opens its eyes and explodes right in their faces, sending them high into the air and into the depths of the tar pool.

Drowning, sinking, gasping for air, they slowly sink into the bottom of the pool of darkness.

However, what laid at the bottom was not their end, but rather something much more profound.

As they sank, they could see galaxies, planets, and star clusters shining amongst the vastness of empty space. They traveled, floating within the fabric of time. They accelerated into the vast expanse until the stars blurred into one singularity of bright light.

...

They woke up in a peculiar place, draped by a dreary landscape of dark fog and fleshy ground. At most, this was their new home now. They felt it in their beings. While it was not the most accommodating, it felt oddly familiar.

It was a sanctum where monsters like them can freely roam the lands searching for something. The distant city loomed over a dark chasm surrounded by squalid seas of primordial tar. Monsters of all shapes and sizes inhabited this city with multitudes of limbs, tentacles, legs, wings, and claws speaking to one other in an indecipherable conversation.

Two Nightgaunts, with four bat-like wings, two of them much larger than the other, talked amongst themselves in whispers.

They flied to the city with their husbands in tow, allowing them to fly across the tepid waters. These new beings continued their existence as newly wed couples by celebrating their birth as ascended creatures.